Hockey Canada told the federal government in 2019 about its National Equity Fund as it prepared to face a ``significant potential claim.''
The fund is mentioned in a three-page email to the Sport Minister's office, in which Hockey Canada asks Ottawa if it could self-govern its safe-sport cases.
The email, obtained by The Canadian Press, is signed by Glen McCurdie, who was then Hockey Canada's vice-president of insurance and risk management.
Hockey Canada had used the reserve fund for uninsured liabilities, which until recently included settling sexual abuse claims.
The email also touts Hockey Canada's safe-sport management as ``second to none,'' but voiced concerns both about any third-party mechanism for investigations and a new toll-free number for reporting abuse.
The governing body has been under intense scrutiny since news of an alleged sexual assault following a 2018 gala in London, Ontario, involving eight unidentified players, and subsequent hushed settlement, broke in May.
Allegations of gang sexual assault involving the 2003 world junior team emerged in July.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.